THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Good morning. Laura and I welcome you to
the East Room for a joyous event -- the presentation of two sets of
important awards: the National Medals of the Arts and the National
Humanities Medals. These medals recognize great contributions to art,
music, theater, writing, history and general scholarship.

We congratulate the medalists. We welcome your families; we thank your
loved ones for supporting you. And on behalf of a grateful nation, we
honor your great talent and accomplishments.

Obviously, I'm pleased to be here with my wife. (Laughter.) I am proud to
be here with Mrs. Lynne Cheney, as well. I thank the members of the United
States Senate and the United States House of Representatives for joining us
as we honor our fellow citizens. I'm so pleased to welcome Dana Gioia,
Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts; and Dr. Bruce Cole,
Chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities. Thank you all for
coming and thank you for your leadership. I'm proud that a fellow Texan,
Adair Margo, is the Chairman of the President's Committee on the Arts and
Humanities, has joined us.

Our honorees represent the great strength and diversity of the American
culture. The winners of the arts include a Native American poet, an
orchestra conductor, a composer of choral music, a pioneer of electric
musical instruments, and a man whose last name is synonymous with fine
American craftsmanship. Our honorees have created some of the emblematic
images of our time, supported museums and theaters, and helped nurture
young talent.

The winners of the humanities have also made great and lasting
contributions to our society. They include scholars and historians and a
philanthropist. These men and women have shaped our understanding of the
past, chronicled stories of tyranny overcome by liberty, and helped
preserve our cultural treasures for future generations.

Your accomplishments remind us that freedom of thought and freedom of
expression are two pillars of our democracy. These freedoms have helped
our nation build some of the finest centers of learning in the world.
They've helped inspire new movements in art and literature. And they've
helped fill our libraries and museums and theaters with great works for all
our citizens to enjoy.

America is committed to supporting the arts and humanities. For more than
four decades, the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment
for the Humanities has helped enrich our culture and deepened our
appreciation for the ideals that bind us together as Americans. Some
interesting programs that are run out of these important institutions, like
"We the People" and "American Masterpieces," that expose a new generation
of Americans to American history and literature and art. And Laura and I
strongly support these programs.

It is now my privilege to present the National Medals of Art [sic], and the
National Humanities Medals. Once again, I congratulate our honorees,
because in your work we see the creativity of the American spirit and the
values that have made our nation great. And so now I ask the military aide
to read the citations.

MILITARY AIDE: The National Medals of Arts Recipients:

Eric Kunzel. The 2006 National Medal of Arts to Eric Kunzel for his
innovative achievements as a conductor. His remarkable "Pops" performances
of classical and popular music have expanded the appeal of both and brought
great music to millions. (Applause.)

Morten Lauridsen. The 2007 National Medal of Arts to Morten Lauridsen for
his composition of radiant choral works combining musical power, beauty,
and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide. (Applause.)

N. Scott Momaday. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to N. Scott
Momaday for his writings and his work that celebrate and preserve Native
American art and oral tradition. He has introduced millions worldwide to
the essence of Native American culture. (Applause.)

Roy R. Neuberger. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to Roy R.
Neuberger for his longstanding personal patronage of America's young and
emerging visual artists. His keen eye and generous support have enriched
American art. (Applause.)

Craig Noel. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to Craig Noel for
his decades of leadership as a pillar of the American theater. As a
director of hundreds of plays and a mentor to generations of artists, his
work has inspired audiences and theater producers across the nation.
(Applause.)

Les Paul. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to Les Paul for his
innovation as a musician, his pioneering designs of the electric guitar,
and his groundbreaking recording techniques that have influenced the
development of American jazz, blues, and pop music, and inspired
generations of guitarists. (Applause.)

Henry Z. Steinway. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to Henry
Z. Steinway for his devotion to preserving and promoting quality
craftsmanship and performance, as an arts patron and advocate for music and
music education; and for continuing the fine tradition of the Steinway
piano as an international symbol of American ingenuity and cultural
excellence. (Applause.)

George Tooker. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to George
Tooker for his paintings that combine realism and symbolism, transforming
scenes of American life into iconic images. His metaphysical works reveal
man's journey from despair to triumph. (Applause.)

Dr. Tim White and John Clayton. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of
Arts to the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival for preserving
and promoting the uniquely American art of jazz, educating teachers and
young musicians, and for continuing to explore diverse cultural connections
forged by Lionel Hampton in the collaboration with the Nez Perce.
(Applause.)

Andrew Wyeth. (Applause.) The 2007 National Medal of Arts to Andrew Wyeth
for a lifetime of paintings whose meticulous realism have captured the
American consciousness, and whose austere vision has displayed the depth
and dignity of American life. (Applause.)

The 2007 National Humanities Medal recipients:

Stephen H. Balch. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to
Stephen H. Balch for his leadership and advocacy upholding the noblest
traditions of higher education. His work on behalf of scholarship and a
free society has made him a proponent of reform and a champion of
excellence at our nation's universities. (Applause.)

Russell Freedman. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to
Russell Freedman for his recounting of the history of our nation's struggle
for liberty. With great insight and creativity, he has awakened young
readers to our nation's ongoing quest for justice for all. (Applause.)

Victor Davis Hanson. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to
Victor Davis Hanson for his scholarship on civilizations past and present.
He has cultivated the fields of history and brought forth an abundant
harvest of wisdom for our times. (Applause.)

Roger Hertog. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to Roger
Hertog for his enlightened philanthropy on behalf of humanities. His
wisdom and generosity have rejuvenated the institutions that are the
keepers of American memory. (Applause.)

Cynthia Ozick. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to Cynthia
Ozick for her literary criticism, which has traced the shifting currents of
American arts and letters. In her criticism and essays she has been a
lifelong advocate and practitioner of moral clarity and literary
excellence. (Applause.)

Richard Pipes. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to Richard
Pipes for his peerless scholarship on Russia and Eastern Europe and for his
dedication to the cause of freedom. He has shaped and sharpened our
understanding of the contest between liberty and tyranny. (Applause.)

Pauline L. Schultz. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to
Pauline L. Schultz for her stewardship of a precious trove of local
historical knowledge. She has been a collector and curator of facts and
artifacts that capture a century of human experience on Wyoming's high
plains. (Applause.)

Henry Leonard Snyder. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to
Henry Leonard Snyder for his visionary leadership in bridging the worlds of
scholarship and technology. His direction of massive projects in the
digital humanities has opened new frontiers in cataloguing and preserving
ideas and documents for future generations. (Applause.)

Ruth R. Wisse. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to Ruth R.
Wisse for her scholarship and teaching that have illuminated Jewish
literary traditions. Her insightful writings have enriched our
understanding of Yiddish literature and Jewish culture in the modern world.
(Applause.)

Robert Edsel, Seymore Pomrenze, James Reeds, Harry Ettlinger, Horace Apgar,
Jr. (Applause.) The 2007 National Humanities Medal to Monuments Men
Foundation for the preservation of art, for sustained efforts to identify
and recognize the contributions of the scholar-soldiers of the Second World
War. We are forever indebted to the men and women who, in an era of total
war, rescued and preserved a precious portion of the world's heritage.
(Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: My wife. (Laughter and applause.)

MRS. BUSH: Congratulations to each of the award winners today -- the
National Endowment for the Arts and the National Humanities Medal Award
winners.

For more than two decades, the NEA and the NEH have recognized some of our
country's most influential artists, philanthropists, authors and scholars.
We know our country's arts are diverse when we can celebrate a theater
director who specializes in England's bard, and an institute dedicated to
the uniquely American art of jazz.

Our culture is vibrant when we honor a custodian of history in rural
Wyoming, and a founder of a start-up daily newspaper in the heart of New
York. Through your efforts, you're building on the artistic and cultural
traditions that define us as a nation, and that bring us together -- our
people of so many backgrounds -- by expressing our shared ideals.

Thank you for your dedication to your arts, to your field of study, and to
our country. And thank you especially to Adair Margo, Bruce Cole, and Dana
Gioia for your outstanding work at our federal cultural agencies.

Congratulations to each one of the honorees. Thank you to your family and
friends who are with you today. And now may I invite you to celebrate with
a reception in the Dining Room. (Applause.)